Correct waste management is one of the main aspects of an environmental policy. According to European guidelines, the reduction of present levels of waste generation and the increase in the recovery of energy and materials are important future requirements for an environmentally sound waste management. Recent policy developments have led to a growth of source separation and composting in Italy. The goal of this contribution is to analyze the suitability of composting as a valid option to recover materials from waste. We performed an emergy analysis of a composting process in order to assess all investments necessary to manage the life cycle of compost. Results showed that the phase with the highest investment is the collection of vegetable refuses, while the cost of plant management, calculated in emergy units, is not particularly high. Finally, we compared composting to incineration and landfilling and demonstrated that composting is a sustainable choice for waste disposal.
Bastianoni, S., Porcelli, M., Pulselli, F.M. (2002). Emergy evaluation of composting municipal solid waste. In Waste Management and the Environment (pp. 243-252). SOUTHAMPTON : WIT Press.
Emergy evaluation of composting municipal solid waste
BASTIANONI, S.;PULSELLI, F. M.
2002-01-01
Abstract
Correct waste management is one of the main aspects of an environmental policy. According to European guidelines, the reduction of present levels of waste generation and the increase in the recovery of energy and materials are important future requirements for an environmentally sound waste management. Recent policy developments have led to a growth of source separation and composting in Italy. The goal of this contribution is to analyze the suitability of composting as a valid option to recover materials from waste. We performed an emergy analysis of a composting process in order to assess all investments necessary to manage the life cycle of compost. Results showed that the phase with the highest investment is the collection of vegetable refuses, while the cost of plant management, calculated in emergy units, is not particularly high. Finally, we compared composting to incineration and landfilling and demonstrated that composting is a sustainable choice for waste disposal.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
https://hdl.handle.net/11365/3220
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